Grand Slam Bean Bag Baseball

ABSTRACT

This bean bag tossing baseball game has qualities and features resembling a baseball game and it&#39;s played like a baseball game. Each player/team will be playing offense and defense, either trying to score or trying to prevent the other team from scoring (by throwing at the offensive board or the defensive board). This game is played using skill and strategy as player/teams play defense to try to get three outs against the opposing player/team. They also play offense to try to score runs before the opposing player/team gets three outs against them. The player/teams will alternately take turns throwing. The defense will throw a bag then the offense until all four bags are thrown and then continue until three outs are registered. Players or teams will switch from playing offense to playing defense and vice versa just as they do in a real baseball game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The background of the “Grand Slam Bean Bag Baseball” is an invention based off the bean bag tossing games like the “Corn hole” game. The object of these games is to toss a bean bag on to a four foot by two foot board and hopefully throwing the bean bag through a hole that is placed on the board. If the bean bag goes through the hole the player is rewarded three points, if the bag lands on the board they are credited with one point. But those points can be taken away if the opposing player also gets a bag through the hole, cancelling out both players' three points, or if the opposing player's bag lands on the board, then that also cancels out the first player's one point as well as the second players point. The players usually play until someone reaches twenty one points. These games do not provide any strategy or thought process.

Grand Slam Bean Bag Baseball is a bean bag tossing baseball game that not only involves skill to toss a bean bag through a hole but also involves lots of strategy as players or teams try to score more runs than their opponents and also try to stop the opponents from scoring. Players will play both, offense trying to score runs and defense, trying to stop the other team from scoring runs.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Grand Slam Bean Bag Baseball is a game of baseball played by tossing bean bags. It can be played one on one or with teams of players. One playing board is an offensive board where the player or team on offense tries to throw bean bags into holes on the board that are labeled as “single”, “double”, “triple” “home run”, or “stole base.” There are also holes that have negative results like “strike”, etc.

Then there is the defensive board where the player or team on defense tries to get three outs against the offensive player or team. The defensive player or team will try to throw the bean bags into holes on the board that are labeled “fly out”, “ground out” etc. There are also holes that have negative results for the defense like “hit by pitch walk”, etc.

The players or teams decide how many innings they want to play and whoever has the most runs at the end of the last inning will win the game, just like in baseball. Unlike other bean bag tossing games this game does not have identical boards on each side of the playing field. The boards are different. There is an offensive board and a defensive board. This game is played using skill and strategy as players try to stop the other team from scoring or try to score before they get three outs against them.

DESCRIPTION OF VIEWS IN THE DRAWINGS

First drawing of four is FIG. 1A and this is the front or top view of the games offensive board (the playing surface).

FIG. 1—The frame which is a rectangular box which is 48 inches long and 26 inches wide and made from 2×4's and the top covering is made from plywood with a thickness of ½ inch up to 1 inch

FIG. 2—Homerun wall which is approximately 3-4 inches high and partially covers the front of the hole in which it sits in front of. It's a plastic piece that snaps into the cut out groove.

FIG. 3—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “homerun” beneath the circle.

FIG. 4—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “hit into double play/fly out” beneath the circle.

FIG. 5—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “homerun” beneath the circle.

FIG. 6—Homerun wall which is approximately 3-4 inches high and partially covers the front of the hole in which it sits in front of. It's a plastic piece that snaps into the cut out groove.

FIG. 7—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “hit into double play/fly out” beneath the circle.

FIG. 8—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “double” beneath the circle

FIG. 9—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “Flyout” beneath the circle

FIG. 10—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “triple” beneath the circle

FIG. 11—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “swing & a miss strike” beneath the circle

FIG. 12—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “single” beneath the circle

FIG. 13—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “ground out” beneath the circle

FIG. 14—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “stolen base” beneath the circle

FIG. 15—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “swing & a miss strike” beneath the circle

FIG. 16—This area is labeled “strike”. If a bean bag lands in this area the player gets penalized for a strike.

Second drawing of four is FIG. 1B and this is the front or top view of the games defensive board (the playing surface).

FIG. 1—The frame which is a rectangular box which is 48 inches long and 26 inches wide and made from 2×4's and the top covering is made from plywood with a thickness of ½ inch up to 1 inch

FIG. 2—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “fly out/double play” beneath the circle

FIG. 3—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “hit by pitch walk” beneath the circle

FIG. 4—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “flyout” beneath the circle

FIG. 5—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “fielding error advance 2 bases” beneath the circle

FIG. 6—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “strike” beneath the circle

FIG. 7—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “ball” beneath the circle

FIG. 8—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “strike” beneath the circle

FIG. 9—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “ball” beneath the circle

FIG. 10—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “ground out” beneath the circle

FIG. 11—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “hit by pitch walk” beneath the circle

FIG. 12—A circle cut out which is 5 inches in diameter and labeled “strike” beneath the circle

FIG. 13—A circle cut out which is 7 inches in diameter and labeled “fielding error single” beneath the circle

FIG. 14—This area is labeled “walk.” If a bean bag lands in this area the player gets penalized and a walk is awarded to the offensive player

Third drawing of four is FIG. 1C and this is the side view of the game board on its playing surface (grass, cement, wooden deck, etc)

FIG. 1—This is the ground that the game sits on.

FIG. 2—This is the back leg (one of two, the other side also has a leg) they elevate the game board approximately 18-24 inches off the ground and are made with 2×4 wood

FIG. 3—This is the front or top of the board and is the playing surface.

FIG. 4—This is the side view of the 2×4 frame that makes the rectangular box.

FIG. 5—This is the front leg (one of two, the other side also has a leg) it stand 2-4 inches from the ground and are made with 2×4 wood

Fourth drawing of four is FIG. 1D and this is the Back view of the game board

FIG. 1—This is one of the back legs made with 2×4 wood and is approximately 18-24 inches

FIG. 2—This is the top of the front of the board

FIG. 3—This is a back panel that goes across the back and attaches to the back legs. This is can be used for added support and to put the opposite boards layout on it so players can see better as to what they are aiming for

FIG. 4—This is the other back leg made with 2×4 wood and is approximately 18-24 inches

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The game of Corn Hole or bean bag toss is a game where players try to toss a bean bag through a hole in the center of a playing board. This game involves skill but does not involve thinking or strategy.

Grand Slam Bean Bag Baseball is a game that involves skill and strategy. This bean bag tossing game is a bean bag tossing baseball game in that it has qualities or features resembling a baseball game and it is played like a baseball game. Each player or team will be alternating playing offense and defense, either trying to score or trying to prevent the other team from scoring, just like the game of baseball.

This game can be played one on one or have teams of players on each side. In this description I will use teams as an example. The game has two boards like a regular Corn Hole game, but these boards are not identical like the Corn Hole game. One board is an offensive board and the other board is a defensive board. To start the game one team will be on offensive (the batter) and one team will be on defense (the pitcher). Each team will have an easy wipe plastic handheld coaching board to keep track of men on base, outs, strikes, balls and the score and the innings. These boards will have a layout of a baseball diamond. So as an example if the offense throws a bean bag in a hole labeled “single”, the player can put an X on the second base on the whiteboard.

The game boards will be placed a certain distance from one another. The players can decide how far apart they want the boards to be. If young kids are playing the boards would be closer together than when adults would play. Each board has twelve holes. Six of the holes are the same size as the bean bags and are the holes that each team will try to aim for as these holes will bring positive results. The other six holes are about two inches larger than the smaller holes and these holes are the holes each team will want to try to avoid, as these holes bring negative consequences. Each hole will have a net attached to it from underneath the board so players can confirm what hole the bean bag went through. The game comes with eight five inch tossing bags and each team gets four bags each.

Defense throws first. The defense will try to get three outs before the offense scores any runs. One team (the defense) will try to throw for fly out's, ground out's, and strikes while the other team (the offense) will try to throw for homeruns, singles, doubles, triples and stolen bases. When the game starts and the pitching/defensive team goes first, they will toss a bean bag at the defensive board. If the bean bag lands in a hole labeled “strike” then each team will mark a strike on the coach's whiteboard. Whatever the outcome is from a toss it will be marked on the coach's whiteboard. After the defense throws a bag the offense will throw a bag. If the batting/offensive team throws a bean bag at the offensive board and it lands in a hole labeled “double” it will be marked down on the coach's handheld whiteboard. Then the defense or pitching team throws again followed by the batting team, alternating throws until there are 3 outs and then the teams will switch sides to throw at the opposite board switching from defense to offense and offense to defense.

The game plays out just like baseball rules. If a player on offense throws a bean bag in the hole labeled “double” and the next throw from the offense lands in the hole labeled “triple” then the man on second base will score a run. The defense will try to get 3 outs and the offense will try to score runs before the 3 outs. Players will decide how many innings are to be played prior to the start of the game. Any bag that lands on the defensive board (not landing in a hole) will be marked as a “ball” while any bag that lands on the offensive board (not landing in a hole) will be marked as a “foul ball”. The exception to that rule is the zone at the bottom of the board where there are no holes. On the offensive board this zone is labeled “strike” and if a bean bag lands here it is a strike to the batter. On the defensive board this zone is labeled “walk” and if a bean bag lands here it is a walk to the batter. Whichever player or team has the most runs after the last inning ends wins the game. Game rules will be included in the game. 

1-3. (canceled) 4-6. (canceled)
 7. This invention is a baseball themed bean bag tossing game that has two game boards that are different. The boards (Apparatus) are not identical. One board is an offensive board and the other board is a defensive board. The targets for one board are different than the targets for the other board. Both player's or teams will not be throwing bean bags at the same targets. Targets meaning the actual holes in the board the players will be aiming for. That is what is considered the targets not the boards themselves. Sure players are throwing bean bags at the boards, but it's the targets on the boards that are different. When a player on offense (the batter) throws a bean bag at the offensive board they are aiming for targets labeled “single”, “double”, “triple” etc. But when a player on defense (the pitcher) throws a bean bag at the defensive board they are aiming for targets labeled “out”, “strike”, “double play”, etc. The team on defense can not score runs they can only try to stop the offensive team from scoring by getting three outs. The team on offense can only try to score runs. They can't get outs against the other team because the other team is not on offense they are on defense. It plays out just like a real game of baseball. The drawings show that the two boards are not the same. When I say this game is different it is because the boards are not identical. That means the targets (holes) on the two boards are different. Players or teams will alternate between playing offense and defense because the boards and their targets are not identical. One board is specifically for offense to score runs and one board is specifically for defense to try to get three outs against the offense. It's the Apparatus, the boards that make this game different, that make this game play out like a real baseball game. Both player's or teams can not try to throw a bean bag at a target to get on base or to hit a homerun when it's their turn, only the offensive team or batter can. The offensive team (batter) is throwing bean bags at the offensive board. And the defensive player or team can only try to stop the offensive team or player by throwing at the defensive board and trying to throw for strikes, outs or double plays and so on to get three outs as the teams or player's alternate throws.
 8. This baseball themed bean bag tossing game has a homerun wall on the board. In order for the offensive team to hit a homerun they would have to toss a bean bag up and over the home run wall and in to the target hole labeled “homerun” On the defensive board there is also a homerun wall and there are positive targets behind it as well but the defensive team can not throw for a homerun because they are throwing at the defensive board. The defensive team would have to throw a bean bag up and over the wall and in to the hole labeled “double play.” They would only attempt this of course if there was a chance for a double play. 